{"id":41707,"date":"2018-06-27T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/?p=41707"},"modified":"2022-10-19T15:26:19","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T22:26:19","slug":"bible-intellectual-pursuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/bible-intellectual-pursuit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bible and Intellectual Pursuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some presume Christianity is anti-intellectual. But does the Bible actually promote anti-intellectualism?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary, the Bible promotes the life of the mind. Indeed, the Christian worldview values learning, and it grounds, fosters, and clarifies such intellectual pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This content is adapted from the CSB Worldview Study Bible<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note, for example, how the nature of God does so. God\u2019s infinity clarifies that he alone possesses full knowledge\u2014past, present, and future. His graciousness initiates all learning as all knowledge of him and life flows from his generous self-revelation. God\u2019s truthfulness shows that his self-disclosure communicates truth and does so coherently. His personal nature means that knowledge is also relational, pointing us to a covenant relationship with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s self-revelation reflects God and is likewise instructive about intellectual pursuit.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  1. God\u2019s self-revelation is gracious<\/strong>: God freely initiates it and blesses through it.<\/li>
  2. It is truthful<\/strong>, faithfully representing who God is, what God does, and how God relates to humans.<\/li>
  3. His self-revelation\u00a0is a unity<\/strong>: though coming in a variety of forms (see below), God\u2019s communication about himself, humanity, and life coheres.<\/li>
  4. It is personal<\/strong>, as it communicates who God is and his ways.<\/li>
  5. It is propositional<\/strong>, disclosing truth about God, humanity, life, history, and salvation.<\/li>
  6. Since humans are the recipients of God\u2019s self-revelation, it is analogical<\/strong>, as God uses human contexts, cultures, and languages to communicate.<\/li>
  7. God’s self-revelation\u00a0is partial<\/strong>, since the infinite God can only reveal limited information to finite humans.<\/li>
  8. It is historical<\/strong>, as God communicates with humans in space and time.<\/li>
  9. It is progressive<\/strong> within Scripture, since God relates to multiple generations of humans and gradually expands his self-disclosure over time.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As such, God\u2019s self-revelation clarifies the educational pursuit: it is only possible through divine initiative, rests on the content and unity of revealed truth, has objective and subjective components, requires insight into human culture, cannot be exhaustive, is linked to all of life, and is a perennial process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Further, God\u2019s gracious self-disclosure has been given in a variety of ways and in a variety of contexts, yet with striking unity.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n